Advani too seeks Chawla's removal

LK Advani, the prime ministerial candidate of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), has also favoured the removal of Election Commissioner (EC) Navin B Chawla on the basis of recommendation by his superior, Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) N Gopalaswami, to the government.

Expressing his views through his blog, a day after Gopalaswami’s letter sent shock waves through political and legal circles, Advani has supported BJP General Secretary Arun Jaitley’s argument that Gopalaswami’s recommendation was binding on the government under Article 324 of the Constitution.

Advising the government to go by the Constitutional provisions on this, Advani said that Article 324 of the Constitution had separate procedures for removal of the CEC and ECs. He said while the CEC enjoyed immunity from being removed by the government unless he is subjected to a process of impeachment, the EC could be removed on the recommendation of the CEC.

Drawing parallels between the Article 324 and Article 217 of the Constitution — related to appointment and removal of the EC authorities and to that of the judges of Supreme Court and chief justice, respectively — Advani argued along the line taken by his party. Like in Article 217 which makes it mandatory for the government to heed recommendation of the Supreme Court chief justice on the appointment of the judges, it’s “obligatory for the government to go by the advice of CEC in this case”, he said.

It may be recalled that Gopalaswami’s letter is a sequel to the BJP’s petition to him in January 2008 under Article 324 of the Constitution seeking Chawla’s removal as the latter was “known for his past affiliation with the Congress”.

Interestingly, Advani does not counter any of the arguments that are being given against the CEC’s action against one of his colleagues by the legal and constitutional experts.

Writing in his blog, blog.lkadvani.in, the senior BJP leader extols the role of an independent EC. He cites an instance when Benazir Bhutto, the slain Pakistani leader, had commended the role of Indian military force and the EC in promoting democracy in India.

Drawing instances from the history, Advani talked about the debates on Article 324 in the Constituent Assembly. He quotes a Constituent Assembly member HN Kunzru’s speech on this. “The preparation of the election rolls and the conduct of elections should be entrusted to people who are free from political bias and whose impartiality can be relied upon in all circumstances. But, by leaving a great deal of power in the hands of the President, we have given room for the exercise of political influence in the appointment of the CEC and the other officers by the central government,” Kunzru said.